Free Web NovelChapter 1524: Chapter 721: Space Exploration Foundation_2
This is indeed an extraordinary set of data.
"These red spirulina can’t be brought to Earth for now, they can only be tested on the Moon," Zhao Yi thought for a moment and said, "They have already adapted to the UV environment; if they lose it, they might die."
"Should we let them breed for a few more generations?" he pondered, "After breeding for three or more generations, we will also need to expand the laboratory, add more equipment, and enhance testing methods."
He decided immediately, "Next month, the transport ship will come again, I will go back and mention it so that they can bring another experimental cabin to increase the space."
"That would be wonderful," Li Renzhe said with a smile, "I was hoping the experiment could be expanded. It’s so small now we can hardly do anything. Ideally, it would be three or four times bigger."
Zhao Yi shook his head, "That’s not possible for now. Adding one experimental cabin is already the limit of what can be done. To increase further would require special manufacturing, and that would take a very long time to wait."
Li Renzhe nodded in understanding.
The experimental cabin is not a common commodity. It isn’t something that can just be transported whenever; each cabin is custom-made. Moreover, you can’t transport too many at once because they take up so much space. Even the transport ship can only carry about four at a time, and the ship cannot be dedicated solely to microbiological research as other studies are also very important.
Detailed research on the current red spirulina is certainly necessary. On Zhao Yi’s way back to Earth, he considered that it would be necessary to increase the experimental space as well as personnel. The research includes not only the biological performance of the red spirulina but also the mutations that occurred, such as what exactly caused the mutations, whether it was the activation of some internal gene effect, or whether the genes mutated?
These are issues that need to be researched.
What can be done now is to add an experimental cabin, and to consider sending additional personnel, although working on the Moon requires some training, and it would definitely not be possible in a short time.
When Zhao Yi spoke with Li Renzhe, they didn’t exclude the reporter; in fact, the live broadcast just happened to turn their way, and as a result, their words were broadcasted, "Add another person to research with you—"
This sentence, when broadcasted live, didn’t cause much reaction from most, but those involved in microbiological research were instantly filled with anticipation.
Many microbiologists immediately prepared their applications, hoping to participate in the research of Lunar microbiological studies.
The most hopeful were from the microbiology laboratory at Yanhua University, as the research on the mutated red spirulina and mutation studies were originally the projects of the microbiology laboratory. Adding staff from their lab would be a natural choice.
The Microbiology Technology Research Institute was also watching the live broadcast, and they were even more eager than the Medical Science Center, because Li Renzhe worked on the Moon and had quite a few appearances, even showing up a few times during interviews.
Wei Shiqing, Bai Jianwu, and others heard Zhao Yi’s words. Wei Shiqing immediately shouted, "I must go this time, Xiao Li worked on this research with me."
Bai Jianwu was puzzled, "Isn’t this Xiao Li’s personal project? You just helped with the testing, right?"
"Helping with the testing is also participation. When it comes to understanding the mutated red spirulina, I reckon even Xiao Li can’t compare to me," Wei Shiqing immediately replied. freeweɓnovel.cøm
Bai Jianwu said, "But, aren’t you overage? I heard it’s best if you’re under fifty."
"They didn’t say it had to be under fifty," Wei Shiqing, obviously dissatisfied, retorted quickly, "How old are you? You’re overage too."
"Ahem, forty-nine."
"—!!"
Wei Shiqing took a deep breath, looking at Bai Jianwu with a lethal glare. He had always thought of Bai Jianwu as a straightforward person, but now he realized that his colleague might be pretending to be a simpleton.
In other words, extremely, extremely cunning!
The opportunity to work on Mutated Red Spirulina research on the moon was very, very precious. Everyone in the lab thought it over carefully, Bai Jianwu’s ability was not bad, and he had always been working on mutation research.
This guy was his biggest competitor!
——
Zhao Yi returned to the living area and was arranged to rest for over an hour, then he went around with the senior leaders, including visiting the dormitory rooms in the living area, the emergency passage connecting to the safety spacecraft, and various devices that maintained the internal environment, and so on.
The senior leaders cared about many things, which could be summarized as safety and technology.
Zhao Yi also cared about safety and technology, but what he was most interested in was the status of the construction of the solar energy transmission device, which was crucial for energy maintenance.
The construction process of the solar energy transmission device was complex relative to the lunar environment, even more so than the construction of the living area, mainly because the device construction required large equipment for assistance.
The core component of the transmission device, the monocrystalline silicon wafer used for generating electricity, was not directly placed on the ground. Instead, a large pit had to be dug first, with the monocrystalline silicon wafers arranged inside, then sealed and thermally insulated from above. In other words, the light energy collection device needed to be installed below the ground, not exposed to the outside.
This was mainly due to power and safety considerations.
If all the equipment were installed outside, it would be like installing a super-large furnace. Continuously expanding the area in the future would pose a challenge to safety. Furthermore, surface installations would significantly reduce energy conversion efficiency and cause a series of subsequent problems.
So it was simply more trouble, but all installed underground.
Starting construction on the moon was not an easy task. Several specially made excavators were transported to the surface, but their efficiency was much lower than on Earth. One reason was the harsh lunar environment — the ground below was permafrost. Additionally, due to power limitations, the excavators, which also used solar energy converted electrical power, were somewhat lacking with power ratings over a hundred kilowatts compared to what was required for excavating.
Several specially made excavators, working about six hours a day, had only dug out a quarter of the planned area. The construction of the energy device was even further behind, having reached only one-fifth of the plan.
Even just one-fifth of the plan was already quite remarkable. It was sufficient to supply energy to the living and experimental areas. However, it could not yet support the operation of the super-large radio telescopes and Z-wave devices.
Zhao Yi carefully made the rounds and silently estimated that it was time to start installing the Z-wave device, "It looks like the Z-wave device’s components can also start being transported."
"Although only one-fifth is completed, the rest will gradually increase. The Z-wave device does not necessarily have to release maximum power all the time. It just needs to be operational, and that is enough for now."
The difference between a super-large Z-wave device and a regular one lies in the intensity of the magnetic field it can contract. Technology was already sufficient to support the coverage of the magnetic field, allowing adjustment of the field strength to release low-power Z-waves.
In other words, building a large Z-wave device also allowed for the release of medium and small-sized Z-waves, completely dependent on the mission requirements.
This inspection work basically reached expectations.
The senior leaders and others were very satisfied. They had a new assessment of the Lunar Base and had more confidence in the technology of the space exploration field.
Previously, many people felt that space exploration and working at the Lunar Base posed significant risks, with safety being the main issue.
Now, they felt that safety could be guaranteed, so they turned their attention more towards technology and research.
After completing the inspection, they got back on the Xuanhuang spaceship. The senior leader took Zhao Yi aside and said, "This trip to the Lunar Base was very fruitful. I’ve realized we were too conservative before. We should continue to increase our investment in space exploration, instead of being timid. Whenever there’s a major related project, it needs to be discussed separately in the financial appropriations meeting, which wastes a lot of time."
"In the future, we can set up a special fund for space exploration that can be independent from scientific research. Whether it’s research and development or project execution, funding can be researched and resolved separately."
"This way, we can greatly simplify the process," the senior leader said earnestly.
